I feel you are incorrect in this assumption that the Indian Government is not giving importance to other sports other than Cricket.

Cricket in India is headed by a private organization called BCCI - Board of Control for Cricket in India. They are not governed by the Government of India. They do not come under the jurisdiction of any state or union territory of India.

If you look at the statistics, the Indian Government has not given undue importance to Indian Cricket. In fact they have asked the BCCI to assist the sports ministry to promote other sports in India, which the BCCI is performing with utmost respect for the Government.

The perception that the Government handles cricket in India is incorrect. Other sports like Hockey, Football, Badminton,Tennis and athletics is handled by them.

Crickets popularity has risen because of the marketing and administrative skills of the BCCI. Popular players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul David have assisted the growth of Indian Cricket by their performance in the field and through advertisements.

We hardly see football players in advertisements as the organizations they represent do not market them well. The other sports body should learn from Cricket and grow at par with them to succeed in our country